Nathan Riki

Nathan Riki (Tainui) works as an across school, lead teacher of culturally responsive practices for the Waimairi-iri Kāhui Ako in Ōtautahi. A large part of his role is working alongside schools within the kāhui to develop and maintain positive relationships with the Māori community, thus creating environments that are safe for all tamariki to learn and flourish. Nathan has worked as a school teacher both in New Zealand and overseas spending time teaching at a Hindu School in London and India. He has worked in leadership positions within schools and has recently completed his Masters in the area of Culturally Responsive Practises which led him to the position he is in now, which he loves!

What is it that our communities want for their tamariki, for our tamariki? We are a community – a hapori made up of iwi, hapū and whānau. We must aim for quality relationships with our children, our parents, our colleagues and other agencies.

Community consultation enables schools to understand how their community view learner success. Learner success suggests positive practices and experiences that support the Wellbeing of the whole person.

Communities want their schools to be places where all students, their whānau, hapū and iwi are safe and flourishing, successfully learning as themselves. This means focusing on both the individual and the collective needs of the learner, placing those necessities at the centre and adapting systems and pedagogies to suit.

So how do we engage with our communities in order to build high quality relationships and grow productive partnerships for the success and wellbeing of all? This presentation will discuss these fundamental elements and will also provide achievable strategies for schools to support positive education initiatives with an emphasis on sustainable community engagement.